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The World Health Organization, World Heart Federation, and other organizations recommend comprehensive control programs for rheumatic fever (RF) and...
Historically, many young people suffered severe valvular disease and died awaiting heart valve replacement.
We still do not have a RF vaccine, although the recent announcement that the Australian and New Zealand governments are jointly sponsoring a program to fast...
increased adherence to penicillin prophylaxis is associated with reduced acute rheumatic fever recurrence and a likely reduction in mortality
Population-based primary prevention of ARF through sore throat management may be effective in well-resourced settings like New Zealand
Health systems did not meet the needs of pregnant Aboriginal women with rheumatic heart disease
A multifaceted intervention was implemented using quality improvement and chronic care model approaches to improve delivery of penicillin prophylaxis for rheumatic heart disease
This strategy did not improve adherence to rheumatic heart disease secondary prophylaxis within the study time frame.
The rates of RHD in Timor-Leste are among the highest in the world, and prevalence is higher among girls than boys. Community engagement is essential for ensuring follow-up and the effective delivery of secondary prophylaxis.
Valvular heart disease is a major contributor to loss of physical function, quality of life and longevity. The epidemiology of VHD varies substantially around the world, with a predominance of functional and degenerative disease in high-income countries, and a predominance of rheumatic heart disease in low-income and middle-income countries. Reflecting this distribution, rheumatic heart disease remains by far the most common manifestation of VHD worldwide and affects approximately 41 million people.